Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

Alex stared blankly at Keryu's unconscious body lying motionless at his feet. For a moment, all he could do was blink in confusion.

"...Huh. That was... easy."

He nudged Keryu's side lightly with the tip of his boot, half-expecting the man to suddenly jolt awake, eyes burning with newfound determination like some last-minute protagonist comeback.

But there was no response.

The so-called hero of the Demon Empire remained sprawled on the ground, his new dark power flickering weakly around him like embers struggling to stay alight.

It was the power of decay—a weaker version of Anos's demonic energy, as Alex had thought. And for him, who had conquered the demonic energy already, it was child's play to counter the power of decay, especially when using the destruction energy.

Therefore, the fight ended the moment it started.

Alex scratched his head, his expression shifting between amusement and disbelief. "Is this really it? Shouldn't he have—I don't know—powered up mid-fight? Pulled some nonsense from thin air? Isn't this guy supposed to be a protagonist?"

A tired sigh echoed in his mind. [Alex,] Sophie's exasperated voice sounded out. [It's not that Keryu is weak. It's that you are an anomaly.]

He hummed. "Is that so?"

[Yes. And let's not forget,] she added, [you filled the entire area with weakening poison before he even stepped out of the temple. You practically set a trap in every possible way. With all that stacked against him, even a protagonist couldn't avoid being taken down.]

Yes, as she said, Alex had filled the area with poison before Keryu stepped out of the temple.

Alex was sure that if he let Keryu leave this place, it would be harder to catch him. He was sure Keryu had received some new plot armor in the temple, but he wouldn't let the guy use it.

He planned all this to capture Keryu before he could put his plans in motion.

Now, crossing his arms, he glanced at Keryu's defeated form. "So, what, his plot armor just... vanished?"

"Not entirely," Sophie admitted. "It's just that you cut off all his support in this palace beforehand. Without anyone coming to his rescue, his plot armor didn't activate. But if you had tried to kill him outright, things would have been very different."

The only people in this place were the demon lord, his shadow guards, Vanessa, and Alenia. Among them, there was only one person who could've helped Keryu escape, and that person was killed by Alex some time ago, making Keryu lose his backing.

Now, he had to survive until he reached the demon empire's capital.

Unfortunately for him, Alex wasn't planning to let him do that.

Alex hummed in thought before nodding. "Good thing I had no plans of killing him, then."

After all, where was the fun in simply eliminating an enemy when there were better ways to make use of them?

A slow grin stretched across his lips as he crouched beside Keryu, studying his unconscious face. "Nah, I have much better plans for you. Killing you now would be such a waste."

A chilly breeze swept through the temple grounds, rustling the nearby trees as Alex's expression darkened with intrigue.

With Keryu almost taken care of, it was time to move on to the next phase of his plan.

Since Keryu had tried to go against him, Alex already knew what this guy must've thought. He was sure that the first thing Keryu would've thought of should've been stealing his women.

Anyone—no matter who it was—who even thinks of doing anything to his women wouldn't be let off easily by Alex.

So, for Keryu, something that would feel worse than death awaited.

...............

After an unknown period.

Darkness greeted Keryu as his consciousness sluggishly returned.

A dull, throbbing pain pulsed through his skull, his body stiff and unresponsive as he slowly blinked open his eyes.

The damp scent of aged stone and rusted metal filled his nose, sending an immediate wave of dread coursing through him.

He knew this place.

His breathing hitched as his vision adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings. Heavy iron bars loomed before him, casting thick, jagged shadows across the cold floor. His hands instinctively clenched into fists as the realization set in—he was in Originveil Academy's jail.

A sharp curse left his lips as he shot up from the cot, his movements frantic. His mind whirled with questions.

How? How had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was facing Alex outside the temple—then nothing.

"Damn it," he hissed, slamming his fist against the wall in frustration.

Realization hit him.

He lost to Alex again.

This time, he lost before he could do anything.

Keryu's mind suddenly sharpened as he heard a sudden shift in the cell adjacent to him before he heard a voice. "That voice... Keryu?"

He stiffened. That voice—

"Maleshia?" His head snapped toward the source. The dim lighting barely allowed him to make out her silhouette through the iron bars separating them, but there was no mistaking that rich, familiar tone.

"You're here too?" She asked, her voice laced with confusion and restrained anger. "I woke up in this damned place with no explanation."

Keryu's stomach churned.

Maleshia, his teacher… and his lover.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be safe, hidden away from the chaos surrounding him.

No one was even supposed to know of their relationship. So, why was she here?

"D-Did you do something?" He asked, wanting to know if she had done anything or if it was because of him that she was here.

But before she could respond, another voice—soft and hesitant—spoke from the cell on his other side.

"...Keryu?"

His breath caught in his throat. That voice belonged to Natasha.

His heart pounded as he turned, his gaze locking onto the figure pressed against the iron bars in the dimness. Even in this situation, her presence carried an allure that had always drawn him in. But now, there was no warmth in her usually teasing voice—only unease.

"I don't know what happened," she murmured. "I was asleep in my room, and when I woke up... I was here."

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' Keryu realized it now.

It wasn't Maleshia who had done something. She was here because of him, because there was no way both of his lovers would do something grave enough to get them to the prison.

A heavy silence stretched between them as the weight of the situation settled over Keryu like a suffocating fog. His lovers—both of them—were now trapped here alongside him.

His mind raced.

This wasn't a coincidence. No, this was deliberate.

A sickening realization curled in his gut. He wasn't just being kept prisoner. He was being cornered, shackled not just by chains but by the very people he couldn't afford to abandon.

Keryu gritted his teeth, his frustration boiling over. "Alex," he growled under his breath, his fists trembling. That bastard—this had to be his doing.

"Yes," Natasha spoke in response to his growl. "It is most likely him."

She then explained how she had been feeling some gazes on her no matter where she went, and Maleshia, who had ignored those details, also agreed that she had felt the same.

It made things clear.

Someone who had a lot of power was keeping an eye on them.

Now, the moment they secured Keryu, they made their move, capturing Maleshia and Natasha as well.

For the first time in a long while, true, bone-chilling despair seeped into Keryu's veins.

He had thought he could fight back, that he could claw his way out of the abyss Alex had thrown him into. But now... now the stakes were too high.

He wasn't alone in this anymore.

He couldn't just escape.

Because if he did, he'd be leaving them behind.

His rage from losing Eris had clouded his mind so much that he forgot she wasn't the only one in his life anymore.

Natasha and Maleshia were his lovers. He couldn't just abandon them.

Thinking about the time he had spent with these two ladies, Keryu started to calm down.

He needed to consider ways to get out of this situation safely. Ways that could ensure his and his lovers' safety as well.

The best option would, of course, be staying here until his sentence was over.

After all, the only crime he committed was providing another student with an illegal drug. The worst punishment he could get for that crime would be a year of imprisonment.

That, however, was only possible if he didn't have an enemy who could go in and out of the prison without a problem and was trying to kill him.

With Alex in the equation, Keryu couldn't leave everything to luck and try to survive in prison.

Just then, a sharp sound—the steady clack of boots against stone—broke through Keryu's swirling thoughts.

His body tensed instantly, fingers curling into fists as the footsteps echoed through the dimly lit corridor outside the cells. His instincts screamed a warning before his mind fully caught up. Someone was coming.

'No, not someone—'

He was sure it was Alex, but it was too quick. He hadn't even thought of a way to survive this predicament.

Suddenly, Maleshia's sharp intake of breath cut through the air like a knife.

He turned toward her just as the figure stepped into view. The flickering torchlight illuminated a face Keryu would recognize anywhere—a face that shocked him deeply.

Alan Nightshade.

Tall and composed, with long, straight black hair cascading over his shoulders and crimson eyes glinting with something between satisfaction and venom. His Academy uniform was pristine, not a thread out of place, his posture stiff with barely restrained arrogance.

'Him?!' Keryu couldn't understand anything. 'Why is he here? What about Alex?? Wasn't it Alex who had brought us here?'

Yes, Alan was a villain of the story, and it was completely possible for the guy to do this, but that didn't make Keryu believe that Alex had no part in all of this.

After all, the last person he had seen was Alex.

'Could he be observing everything from somewhere?' That thought caused rage to bubble in his veins as he clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palm.

"Maleshia," Alan finally spoke, his voice smooth and practiced—yet there was something raw underneath, something sharp.

His eyes traced over her, lingering too long, as if seeing her caged like this brought him some twisted sense of justice.

Then his gaze shifted, and his expression hardened when it landed on Keryu.

"Keryu," he spat, disdain dripping from his tone.

Keryu growled, standing from his cot and stepping toward the bars. "You," he hissed. "What the hell are you doing here? Are you Alex's dog now?"

He was intentionally trying to provoke Alan to get some information out of that guy, but before Alan could answer, another figure emerged beside him.

Ben.

The sight of him sent a fresh wave of shock through Keryu's head. Blonde hair, green eyes burning with fury—this guy never had this look when they met.

They were supposed to be good friends.

He had made sure to make it look like they were good friends.

So, what was going on?!

Keryu's jaws clenched, his frustration boiling over. 'Just what the hell is going on?! Why is this self-righteous bastard standing side by side with a villain?!'

Ben's stare was sharp as a blade. "You don't deserve to ask questions," he said coldly, his voice laced with restrained anger. "Not after everything you've done."

The way Ben looked at him made Keryu realize that something was really wrong.

He didn't know what was happening, but something he had never thought of seemed to be happening.

Keryu turned toward Natasha, who had always kept an eye on things with Ben, but even she seemed shocked.

It seemed something had happened in a way that even his people couldn't notice.

All of this pointed at one person.

Keryu couldn't think of anyone else who could be behind all this.

'Alex!!!!!' He roared inwardly. 'Just what the hell have you done?!?!?'